Hookers for Jesus: Sex and Salvation on the Strip
Annie Lobért knows that sex sells. The 16 years she spent as a stripper, prostitute, and high-class escort, most recently on the Las Vegas Strip, taught her that.
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The Brutality of the American Eden
Last week’s six-hour PBS documentary, God in America, wasn’t really about God in America. Nor was it about religions in America. Following a fairly conventional narrative in mainstream discourse (albeit not one adopted by the contemporary Christian right), the series…
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Chilean Mine Rescue: Largest Global Spiritual Event Ever?
One wonders how religious leaders might have exercised a more meaningful presence in the event as it unfolded and was engaged across a global digital landscape. As I scanned the emerging Facebook communities throughout the day and monitored Twitter feeds and news site comments, it was clear that few religious leaders were participating in what has to have been the most significant global spiritual conversation that has ever taken place on Earth.
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TV’s Favorite Family Dumps Religion
Modern Family, which won the Emmy award for best television comedy after its first season, just turned on religion. But what was really interesting about this episode, called “Earthquake,” was the way it…
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Religion, Morality, and the Death of the American Soap Opera
This week, the world will stop turning; or at least it will for the daytime soap opera “As The World Turns,” which officially ends after 53 years. But if we remember the soap opera solely as a torrid celebration of sexual transgression—or as a frivolous time-waster for bored housewives—we miss understanding something crucial about the relationship between popular culture and morality.
Read MoreRebooting the Universe: Doctor Who part X, Season Finale
For those who may not remember, the Doctor actually was involved in the original Big Bang…
Read MoreTo Be Loved or Feared: Doctor Who, part IX
Time travel can make for interesting plot twists, but it can also take some of the suspense out of the story.
Read MoreOf Love and Lodging: Doctor Who Part VIII
This episode perhaps works better as a parable of romance than a parable of religion. But popular religion in the Christian tradition has placed a lot of focus on…
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Take the Van Gogh Challenge: Doctor Who Part VII
Perhaps it is time to stop asking whether religion or science offers a better explanation of natural phenomena, and instead ask whether we find a certain religious vision compelling…
Read MoreEvery Homo Reptilia is Somebody’s Sister: Doctor Who Part VI
The Hungry Earth.
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